Oct 24, 2010 5:03 AM

10U seeks competitive travel team to join for Spring 2011 Season in Monmouth County, NJ. Above average batting skills and solid 1B and 3B abilities. A true leader on and off the field. Please contact Joe at 609-751-3082.

Why would a 10U team look for players who play specific positions rather than the best players available? This is when I can tell the coaching staff is a bunch a dads who don't understand the game. This is a good situation to avoid.

You're right. I misread it. From the other side I wouldn't advertise position. I would advertise he can hit, run and throw. I have an opportunity for him. He can pay $300 per month year round for training and another 3K for the team to train and play for the Arsenal.

I remember when my son was 14U, during a break I watched part of a 10U game. A dad told me his son was going to play college ball because he was part of the Arsenal program. Last year I told the story to a friend with a son playing 17U Arsenal (the kid is playing D1 this year). The friend said there were only four players remaining from the 13U team.

Catcher is different at that age. He's often if not usually the best athlete on the field. Only the pitcher and SS might be better. F5 and F3 might be great players, but they're often not quick.

Just finished 12U fall travel ball. Our catcher was so much faster than the rest of the team it was silly, plus he bats lefty. In about 20 games I would guess he beat 25 ground balls out for hits, which isn't easy on a 70' field. Every single time he was on 1st he stole second, and every time he was on second he stole 3rd, and nobody came close to throwing him out, even on pitch outs. Odd thing is that the kid can run distance too. He finished 5th in our city's middle school cross-country championship, by far the first 7th grader to finish.

I'll be honest - when I saw "1st and 3rd baseman" and "10U" I was thinking the same thing: that tall chunky kid who can't run, but can hit, hit for power, catch, and throw, but has the range of a bronze Buddha (then again, so did Al Oliver).

I know the "prototypical" catcher of yore is the chunky kid who can't run but has skills, but it's not always true.

There seem to be two models - the squatty kid, and the rangy model, and those long, lean catchers can sometimes run.

Squatty kid: think Ivan Rodruigez.

Rangy model: think Carlton Fisk (who could run, tied his career high with 17 stolen bases when he was 37), Benito Santiago.

My son was the rangy model, and he could run too. Not blindingly fast, but fast enough, and good instincts - didn't get thrown out stealing on the big diamond until he was 17, and he ran a lot. He's 6'3" 185 now, 195 after a meal. At one point he was 6'1" 135 - a beanpole in shins.

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